Automated telephone systems are now in widespread use among users such as providers of telemarketing, credit collecting and reservation services.
Users of such systems desire to optimize system performance by attempting to ensure nearly 100% operator productivity while minimizing the number of calls which are placed on hold. This concern arises from the fact that customers who are placed on hold will at some point hang up and be lost.
Several prior art methods have been developed to prioritize the order in which calls placed on hold are answered, but all have been met with limited success. These methods include prioritizing the on-hold calls based upon the telephone number dialed. For example, long distance callers who are on hold would be handled before local callers who have been placed on hold. Another method involves prioritizing the on-hold calls strictly by age or the length of time the call has been placed on hold. This method fails to recognize the non-uniformity in the willingness of customers to remain on hold based upon the length of time the caller has been on hold. For example, a customer who has been on hold for 30 or 40 seconds may not be more apt to hang up then a customer who has been on hold for 10 seconds or less. Another example is that customers are more apt to hang up when a message is played during the hold interval. Additionally, such non-uniformity in hold tolerance will vary and change from user to user, and from campaign to campaign at any given user.